Pipe latching means



Nov. 25, 1952 A. STONE PIPE LATCHING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan.9, l947 Finger Board Floor Mai Derrick Floor F I G.

Finger Board F l G. 3.

QZZm/ZMO JNVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

New, 25, 1952 A. L. STONE 2,619,234

PIPE LATCHING MEANS Filed Jan. 9, 194'? f 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4.

FIG. 4'A

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 E om 391m A. I... STONE PIPE LATCHING MEANS Nuvw 251952 Filed Jan. 9, 194-7 1 A, 5 on al a M. INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

New. 25, 1952 A. STONE PIPE LATCHING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan.9, 1947 i ewuw rf mwg @4404 INVENTOR.

Ill

USN mw 2w mifiw/ ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 2 5, 1952 PIPE LATCHING MEANS Albert L. Stone, PalosVerdes Estates, Calif., as-

signor, by mesne assignments, to Standard Oil Development Company,Elizabeth, N. J a corporation of Delaware Application January 9, 1947,Serial No. 721,073

3 Claims. 1

This invention is directed to a pipe latching means particularly adaptedfor retaining stands of pipe in the derrick of a drilling rig.

In the drilling of deep boreholes in the earth it is conventional toemploy joints of pipe to form the drill stem and mount a derrick overthe borehole to facilitate the handling of the joints of pipe comprisingthe drill stem. When carrying out this operation it is necessary toprovide some means for racking the pipe during usual steps of going intothe hole and coming out of the hole with the drill stem. In conventionaldrilling operations, it has heretofore been customary to maintain thepipe in position when standing in the derrick by providing a, suitablesupport means for resisting lateral forces exerted by the stands of pipeand to lean the stands in the derrick so that a lateral force wasexerted by each joint of pipe which would be resisted by the rackingmeans. However, with unusual conditions, such as a strong wind tendingto oppose the lateral thrust caused by gravity, it is necessary to takeprecautions to prevent the pipe from being moved from position andheretofore this has commonly been done by the derrick man using a ropeor chain to tie the stands of pipe to the derrick.

It is an object of the present invention to devise a means for securingstands of pipe in a derrick whereby the stands of pipe are locked inposition with the axis of the stands making a slight angle with thevertical.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a means to beused in a derrick whereby joints of pipe are retained in position withtheir longitudinal axes making a slight angle with the vertical and thestands of pipe positively locked from moving toward the vertical, saidlocking means being releasable so that the pipe may be released to allowthe pipe to be taken from the rack.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention may be seen from areading of the description taken in conjunction with the drawing inwhich Fig. 1 is a plan view of a derrick adapted for use in drillingoperations, said view being fragmentary and omitting a showing ofportions of a conventional drilling rig not necessary to explain thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view showing a portion of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view of a portion of the racking means shown in Figs. 1 and2 enlarged to show the means in greater detail;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a racking finger shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4A is a fragmentary view showing a portion of the racking finger Eof Figs. 1, 2 and 4;

Fig. 5 is a showing in greater detail of a portion of the embodiment ofFig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view of a movable element adapted to be used in the assemblyshown in Fig. 3 or that shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a view along line VII-VII of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is an end view of the elements shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a locking pin adapted to be used with the assembly of Figs. 1and 2 or the assembly of Fig. 3 or the assembly of Fig. 4;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view of another embodiment of a racking finger;

Fig. 11 is a view along line XIXI of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is an elevation, partly in section, showing another finger boardembodying the present invention;

Fig. 13 is a view along line XIII-fill of Fig. 12

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary view showing a portion of the embodiment ofFig. 12;

Fig. 15 is an elevation, partly in section, showing a racking fingerprovided with the same looking means as the racking board shown in Figs.12 to 14;

Fig. 16 is a view along line XVIXVI of Fig. 15;

Fig. 17 is a showing of an elevation, partly in section, of anotherarrangement embodying the present invention; and

Fig. 18 is a view of the movable element shown in the assembly of Fig.17.

Turning now specifically to the drawing and first to the apparatus shownin Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 4A, a derrick A has a drawworks 13 mounted adjacentthe base thereof and a mat C on the derrick fioor for receiving thelower end of stands of pipe stacked in the derrick. A finger board Dextends from one side of the derrick to the other with its ends securelyfastened to the girts of the derrick. At the next girt above fingerboard D are mounted a plurality of racking fingers, with each rackingfinger designated by the reference letter E. A racking board F on whichthe derrick man may stand is atached to a girt in a derrick at the samelevel as the racking fingers E. It will be noted that the center of thederrick is shown by the intersection of two lines extending at rightangles to each other with one line designated as XX and the other linedesignated as YY'. Rows of stands of drill pipe are shown 3 stacked inthe derrick with one stand arranged in the locking means of finger boardD and the adjacent stand arranged in racking finger E.

Finger board D comprises a stiff structural member I, such as a piece ofsteel in the shape of a channel which serves as a mounting means for aplurality of bifurcated posts I2--I2'.

The racking fingers E each comprise an elongated member II having oneend provided with downwardly extending shoulder 4 defining a circularopening 5 which allows it to be secured to derrick girt 2 by pivot 3whereby assembly E may be placed in a substantially vertical positionwhen not in use and may be pivoted around pivot 3 until its axis is in ahorizontal position where it is operable to receive stands of drillpipe. Elongated member E is provided with bifurcated osts identical withthose mounted on assembly D and, accordingly, designated by theidentical reference numerals I2I2'.

When using the racking assemblies D and E shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 4A,it will be seen that when racking stands of drill pipe a row of standswill be placed in finger board assembly D and the racking finger Eadjacent the finger board may be moved from its vertical to itshorizontal position, a row of stands of drill pipe may be placed in thisassembly and the assembly E adjacent thereto and may then be moved fromits vertical to its horizontal position and the operation repeated untilall the stands of drill pipe are racked. Similarly, when taking thestands of drill pipe out of the rack, the stands of drill pipe in therow nearest the center of the derrick may be removed from rack E, thisrack then moved from its horizontal to its vertical position, the nextrow of stands of drill pipe then removed from the adjacent rack E andthe operation repeated until the row of stands of drill pipe locked tothe finger board are removed from racking position.

In the assembly D, finger board I is a stiff member secured to thestructure of the derrick and is capable of supporting the leaning weightof all of the rows of pipe racked in a derrick. When a row of stands ofdrill pipe is locked to finger board D, it also serves to prevent windthrust in the direction toward YY' being exerted against subsequent rowsof stands of drill pipe. It will be noted from the position of mat C andthe finger board D and rack fingers E that the thrust exerted by thestands of drill pipe due to the pull of gravity are in the direction Xalong the line XX and in the direction Y along the line YY. The loadexerted by the stands of drill pipe due to the force of gravity in thedirection of XX is resisted by structural member I and the load due togravity toward Y along the line YY' is resisted by the bifurcated postsI2-I2' which are mounted on members II and pivoted to the derrick asheretofore explained.

The bifurcated posts I2-iI 2' mounted on finger board D and the severalracking fingers E will now be described. For convenience this structurewill be described in conjunction with a racking finger E but it will beunderstood that the description applies equally well to finger board D.

In Figs. 3 and 4 the assembly E is shown in plan view and the uppermostmember I2 of each of the bifurcated posts is shown. In Figs. 3 and 4 thelowermost member I2 of each bifurcated post cannot be seen but such ashowing appears in Fig. 7.

It will be observed that the bifurcated posts I2-I2' have their axesextending at a right 4 angle to the axis of member II with the bifurcated posts spaced to define apparatus suitable for receiving stands ofdrill pipe between each of the bifurcated posts. Mounted on each of thebifurcated posts I2I2' is an axle I3 and pivoted to each axle I3 is apivoted member I4.

Each member I4 is provided with an opening I5 as shown in Fig. 6 forreceiving axle I3 and for allowing the member to pivot on the axle. Itis to be noted that member I4 is of a peculiar shape and, forconvenience, the several surfaces of the member, as shown in theelevation of Fig. 6, are designated separately for reference thereto. InFig. 6, it will be seen that the surfaces defining the outline of themember are designated as IS, IT, I8, I9, 20, and 2I. Member I5 includesan opening 22 and is provided with a shoulder or projection 23 to limitthe movement of said member around axle I3. Each bifurcated post I2I2'also serves as a mounting means for a pin member 25 which supports aspring member 26. As will appear in the drawing, spring member 26 isadapted to press against surface I9 of pivoted member I4 thereby biasingsurface 20 away from elongated member II.

The spaced bifurcated posts I2I2 with pivoted members I4 mounted thereonare arranged to allow stands of drill pipe to be racked in sequence infinger board D and racking fingers E; as each stand of drill pipe isplaced in position it locks the preceding stand in position; in otherwords, all of the stands racked in sequence in assembly D or assembly Eare locked against removal with the exception of the last placed member.

In Fig. 4 a stand of drill pipe designated as gI is placed in rackingmember E and a second stand g2 has one side in contact with surface I6of a pivoted member I4 with a dashed circle designated as 93 on thedrawing showing the position assumed by stand 92 when the stand of drillpipe is placed in its final position as outlined by a dashed circle. Forconvenience, the position of member I4 in contact with g2 will bedesignated as a first position and the position of the member I4 incontact with gI will be designated as a second position. It will benoted that as stand g2 is moved to the position indicated by dashedlines and designated by g3, member I4 in contact therewith moves fromits first position to its second position. It will be apparent that whena stand of drill pipe g2 is placed in assembly E and another stand is inthe postion indicated by 93, the pivoted member I4 in contact with g2can move only until surface I8 thereof comes in contact with drill pipeg3 whereupon further movement of this member I4 will be prevented; inother words, stand of drill pipe 93 locks stand of drill pipe gI inposition in locking member E. It will also be evident that assembly E isdesignated to provide a suitable number of apertures with each apertureadapted to receive a stand of drill pipe and that as the stands of drillpipe are placed in assembly E in sequence starting to the right ofassembly E that each stand of pipe is locked into position as the nextstand of drill pipe is placed in the assembly so that the only stand ofpipe which is not locked in assembly E is the last one placed in theassembly As heretofore explained, the locking means of finger board D isidentical with the locking means explained heretofore with respect toassembly E.

If desired, a stand of drill pipe may be locked in position with respectto a racking finger E or finger board D without placing an additionalstand of drill pipe in the unit by the use of a locking pin 49 shown inFig. 9. Pin 49 may be placed through openings 22' defined by bifurcatedposts |2|2 and through the opening 22 of pivoted member [4, therebylocking member l4 against angular movement.

Each pivoted member I4 is provided with a pin member 23 which projectsabove the sides of member l4 and is adapted to contact the bifurcatedposts |2-|2 upon which it is mounted when member I4 is biased into itsfirst or open position by spring member 25. In Fig. 4, it will be seenthat the member l4 in contact with the stand of drill pipe g2 is biasedto an open position with pin 23 in contact with bifurcated posts |2|2whereby the stand of drill pipe 2 in contact with the surface l3 ofpivoted member l4 may readily enter the assembly E to assume theposition designated as 93.

While it will usually be desirable to provide a bifurcated support postwith a single pivoted member secured thereto, other arrangements may beused. In Figs. 10 and 11 an embodiment is shown wherein racking finger Hhas mounted thereon a post consisting of a single member 5| with abifurcated member 52 secured thereto by axle 53. It will be understoodthat in the complete assembly a plurality of spaced post members 5| Willbe mounted on a suitable structural member with a pivoted member 52mounted on each post to provide a completed finger board, similar tothat shown in Figs. 1 and 3, or, alternatively, post members 5|, eachhaving a member 52 pivoted thereto, may be spaced along a structuralmember to provide a complete racking finger similar to the rackingfinger shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figs. 12, 13,and 14. In these figures the locking means is shown mounted on a fingerboard designated as D; it will be understood that identical lockingmeans may be arranged in the form of a locking finger but in order tosimplify the drawing a showing of such a locking finger has been omittedfrom th present invention. In the embodiment of Figs. 12, 13, and 14,the assembly D is provided with locking means operable to lock eachstand of pipe in position as it enters assembly D. In other words, theembodiment of Figs. 12, 13, and 14 lock positively all the stands ofdrill pipe which have been placed in the assembly rather than leavingunlocked the last stand of pipe to enter the assembly as shown in theembodiments of Figs. 1 to 9. In the assembly D shown in Figs. 12, 13,and 14 an elongated member 30 which corresponds to the elongated memberI of the finger board shown in Figs. 1 to 3 has spaced bifurcated posts3|--3| mounted therein.

Each bifurcated post 3|-3|' carries an axle |3 and mounted on the axleis a pivoted member 45. Pivoted member 45 is generally similar to memberM in the previously described embodiment and the surfaces |6, I1, and I8thereof are identical therewith and designated by like numerals.However, the extended free end of member 45 is adapted to fit into aslotted opening 34 and, accordingly, the surfaces designated as H], 20,and 2| of member l4 are elongated in member 45; these portions aredesignated by numerals I9, 20', and 2|, respectively.

In the embodiment of Figs. 12 to 14 coil springs are provided to biasthe surfaces 20 of pivoted members 45 away from elongated member 30; oneend of the coil spring is secured to pivoted 6 member 45 by means of aprojecting pin member 33 and the other end of the spring is attached tomember 3| of the bifurcated post by similar pin member 33.

In the embodiment of Figs. 12 to 14 elongated member 30 is square insection and defines openings 34 with each opening adapted to rest theend portion defined by end surfaces I9, 20, and 2| of a member 45.

'Slidably mounted within the passage defined by member 30 is anelongated member 35 gen erally square in section and having spacednotches in each of which is arranged a spring member 36. The end ofmember 35 defines a longitudinally extending slot 31 through whichextends a transverse pin 33. It will be seen that the ends of pin 38 aresecured to member 30. Slot 31 and pin 38 are arranged so that member 35may assume either a right or a left position. When member 35 is in itsleft position, as shown in Fig. 12, the free ends of. spring members 35come into contact with sur-- faces 2| of pivoted members 45 when thesurfaces 20 thereof are in contact with member 35; when member 35 ismoved to the right the free ends of spring members 36 are out of contactwith surfaces 20' and 21' of members 45 no matter what position members45 may assume; that is to say, each member 45 is free to pivot about itsaxle l3 when member 35 is in its right position. For convenience. theposition occupied by member 35 when it is moved to its right, releasingmembers 45, will be deemed its first position and the position assumedby member 35 when it is moved to the left or locking position is termedits second position.

A means consisting of a pulley 39 mounted on the threaded portion ofmember 35 is provided with screw threads 40 engaging with correspondingscrew threads 4| of member 35; this arrangement allows member 35 to bemoved to its right or left position by the rotation of pulley 39. Achain 42 may be provided which allows an operator to rotate the pulley39 from a position remote from assembly E.

In Figs. 15 and 16 is shown a racking finger which may be used asracking finger E in the assemblies of Figs. 1 and It will be seen thatthe locking means of the racking finger assembly shown in Figs. 15 and16 is generally similar to the finger board assembly D of Figs. 12 to 14and like members are identified with identical reference numerals. Itwill be seen that member 30 in the racking finger shown in Figs. 15 and16 is provided with a, downwardly extending shoulder 46 defining acircular opening 4? which enables it to be pivoted adjacent a girt ofthe derrick so that the racking finger may be placed in a horizontalposition for receiving stands of pipe or may be moved to a verticalposition in the derrick at the option of the derrick man. It will beunderstood that the racking finger shown in Figs. 15 and 16 will usuallybe mounted in the derrick adjacent the racking board F on which thederrick man is stationed so that the racking fingers will beconveniently near to the derrick man. For this reason the means arrangedfor moving member 35 relative to member 30 to lock and release members45 is not a pulley 33 as in the embodiment of Figs. 12 to 14, butinstead is a hand wheel 48. By way of illustration the embodiment ofFig. 15 has a locking pin 49 secured to a bifurcated member 31 by achain 53.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 17 and 18,, another racking board isshown having an ar- .rangement. identical with that showninFigs. 12 .to14 with the exception that instead ,ofpivoted member 45, the deviceis.provided ,withpivoted members 44. The assembly in this figure is,accordingly, .designatedas E. Accordingly, with vthe exception ofmembers .44, the parts shown in this drawing are givennumerals identicalwith the corresponding parts in the embodiment of Figs. 12 to 14, andthese identical parts willnot again be described in detail. Each member44 defines surfaces l6, I9, 26, and 2| identical with the surfaces ofvmember l4 which are identified by like numerals in Fig. 6. However, aportion of .that.part of member l4 bounded by surfaces I! and [8 hasbeen removed from member 44 so that in addition to surfaces [6, I9, 20and 2|, member 44 is bounded by surfaces 54, 55, and. 56. Members 44 arearranged to cooperate with bifurcated posts 12-42, on which each member44 is .pivoted by means of axle l3 so that when the .end of member 44 isbiased away from support member 35, which position is designated as itsfirst position, a plurality of stands of drill pipe :may besimultaneously received by or simultaneously removed from the assembly.

In the embodiment of Figs. 17 and 18, the entire assembly is designatedas E. This assembly may conveniently be used with the apparatus formoving pipe disclosedin my copending application SerialNo. 692,201,entitled Apparatus for Handling Pipe in a Derrick, and filed August 22,

1946, in that it will receive a plurality of stands of .drill pipesimultaneously and will release the plurality of stands of drill pipesimultaneously.

In the embodimentE", a member. 44 is not arranged to cooperate with twoadjacent stands of drill pipe with one of. the stands of drill pipecooperating with member .44 to lock the other stand of drill pipe intoposition but instead the members depend upon the locking assemblyincluding elongated member-35 and spring members 36 to lock members 44in position whereby the stands of drill pipe are retained by theassembly E. It will be understood that the locking assembly includingmember 35 and spring members 36 may be moved to the right when receivingstands of drill pipe and after the stands of drill pipe are received,the locking assembly may be moved to the left to look all the stands ofdrill pipe in position, or, alternatively, the looking assembly 35 maybe moved to the left before stands of pipe are placed in assembly E, andas each stand of drill pipe is placed in position it rotates itscorresponding member 44 around axis 13 until surface 2| comes in contactwith spring 36 whereupon the member 44 is locked into position. In thisway it will be understood that single stands of drill pipe may be placedin position, or, alternatively, a plurality of stands may simultaneouslybe placed in position. The members 44 may be released by moving thelocking means including member 35 and spring members 36 to the right.This allows each member 44 to rotate around its axis. In other Words, inthe embodiment of the invention illustrated by assembly E all of thestands of drill pipe arranged in an draw ing, the locking means of theembodiment of .8 Figs. 15 .and 16 has not. been shownappliedtoa rackingfinger.

It. will be understood that while an embodiment isshown havingbifurcatedpost members with a single movable member pivoted to each bifurcatedpost and another embodiment as shown with a single post member and abifurcated movable member pivoted thereto, the locking means for lookinga stand of drill pipe in position are not restricted to such structuraldetails.

For example, a one piece post similar to posts 5| of Figs. 10 and 11 mayhave pivoted thereto a single member similar to member I4 as shown indetail in'Figs. 4 and 6 or member shown in Figs. 17 and 18. Further, itwill be understood that the locking means including slidable member '35with spaced springs 36 attached thereto may be employed with the designof the post and movable member shown in Figs. 10 and 11, and similarlythat the movable member 52 of Figs. 10 and 11 may be modified to obtainan outline corresponding to members 44 shown in Figs. 17 and 18, ifdesired, for use with the locking means including slidable member 35having spring members 36 mounted thereon. These and other embodimentsare believed to be variations which may be made 'by a workman skilled inthe, art without departing from the scope of the invention described andclaimed herein and inorder to simplify the drawing, these embodimentshave not been shown therein.

While I have described specific embodiments illustrating the presentinvention, it will be obvious to a worker skilled in the art thatvarious changes in the shape, proportion and size of the various partsmay be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Having fully described and illustrated embodiments of the presentinvention, what! desire to claim as new and useful and to secure byLetters Patent is: I

- 1. A racking assembly adapted to receive a plurality, of stands ofdrill pipe comprising, in combination, a longitudinally extendingmember, a plurality of spaced posts carried by the member with each posthaving its longitudinal axis at a right angle to the axis of thelongitudinally extending member, a pivoted member mounted on each ofsaid posts adapted to assume a first position. to receive a stand ofdrill pipe without resistance and a second position for retaining theoted members in their second position.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1 in which at least one of the postmembers and the pivoted member mounted thereon define openingscoinciding when the pivoted member is in its second position and inwhich the means adapted for locking said pivoted member against angularmovement includes a pin adapted to,be-placed lighrough said post memberand said pivoted memer.

.3..A-pparatus adapted for racking stands of pipecomprising incombination a plurality of spacing members mounted thereon,pivotedmembers mounted respectively on said spacingmembers, said pivotedmembers having av front face and-a rear face, said front face beingtransversely grooved to receive astand of pipe, said pivoted membersalso adapted to assume a first position 9 10 for receiving stands ofpipe on the front face REFERENCES CITED thereof without resistance andadapted to as- The following references are of record in the sume asecond position wherein the front face of file of this patent: onepivoted member and the rear face of an adjoining pivoted member, also inthe second posi- 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS tion, partially embrace saidstand of pipe and Number Name Date lock said stand of pipe in theapparatus as long 572,770 Putnam Dec. 8, 1896 as a second stand of pipeoccupies the adjoining 722,514 Johnson Mar. 10, 1903 opening in thesecond position partially defined 1,335,369 Donohue Mar. 30, 1920 by therear face of the pivoted member receiving 10 1,947,553 Johnston Feb. 20,1934 the said stand of pipe. 2,311,932 Deckard Feb. 23, 1943 ALBERT L.STONE. 2,507,040 Moore May 9, 1950

